**“The Turning Door”: An Ambitious Animated Feature Defying Convention**
*“The Turning Door”* stands out as a rare achievement: an independent, ambitious animated feature built on an original story, script, and songs. Nicholas Ashe Bateman—known for “An Almost Christmas Story”—takes the helm as director, screenwriter, co-composer, and producer, with hopes that his approach won’t remain unique for long.
Bateman spent 15 years working in VFX and animation as a self-described “itinerant” worker—often couch-surfing and forging his own creative path outside the typical studio system. He envisions a future where young animators increasingly reject the status quo:
> “I’ve never worked at a company, and I don’t have a concept of it, but yet I have to speak that language,” Bateman says. “I don’t even think [young animators] will have to speak that language. I think they’ll just run directly into it and be like, ‘What do you mean there’s a world where I wouldn’t do this on my laptop?’”
*The Turning Door* is being represented by Mister Smith Entertainment at AFM, and features a stellar voice cast including Alicia Vikander, Jamie Dornan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bill Nighy, and Gillian Anderson.
The story follows young Ariadlyn, who finds an ornate wooden box in her parents’ bedroom—one that opens a door to a magical world called The Turning. On her journey, Ariadlyn encounters giants, whales, armies, shapeshifters, and acrobatic monkeys, all while discovering what it truly means to grow up.
### Interview with Nicholas Ashe Bateman
**Why did you want to make this film?**
> I’ve been writing about fantastic places and worlds since I was a kid. As close to a religious text as I have is probably Tolkien. Those are my ideal stories—fantasy, humanism, magic, and the wonder of being a kid.
**Did your lack of formal training in VFX and animation allow for more creativity?**
> I haven’t arrived at things through a place of standards. I only get there by thinking, “I have these pictures I want to make, and what tools do I use to get there?” That’s been advantageous—obsessing about the images helps me arrive at solutions quickly. I’m not beholden to, “This is how we do it at this company,” or, “This process takes three days.” I just have to get to the picture.
**The film’s look is distinctive—almost like handmade stop-motion, but created with CGI and motion capture. How did you achieve this aesthetic?**
> I want to make images that are deeply personal to me, and understand them as I chase after them. If I do that, maybe I can create cinema people haven’t seen before. I just want to make a movie no one’s seen, and I think that’s possible if we unhook from “this is how it’s always been done.”
**The story creates several imaginative worlds and creatures. What inspired these settings?**
> I love period art. I love painters—and much of the movie’s fantasy is in dialogue with a period of illustration you don’t often see anymore: a golden age of fantasy art, like N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Howard Pyle. I’m also inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites for their beauty, romance, and color. That spirit of adventure has been somewhat forgotten in the last 20 years of fantasy films.
**You have an incredible cast. What did that mean for you?**
> I’m really beside myself about the cast, obviously! I grew up doing theater, so when I’m writing, I can’t help but write with actors in mind.
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*The Turning Door* seeks to remind audiences—and future filmmakers—of the power of imagination unbound by convention, delivering a unique vision in both story and visual artistry.
https://variety.com/2025/film/focus/turning-door-nicholas-ashe-bateman-afm-1236572981/
